Decision Making

while players form, refs, formation, injuries etc can be a part of our current form, the thing that if I had to single one out that hurting us now is our decision making. In games we see many examples of the wrong decision being made. Forget whether we execute it right there are many situations I feel we make the wrong decision. Good teams and player make the right ones more often and something to work on.

Examples from yesterday include Moncur’s charge down the left early in the game. Obvious outlet wide to Moore but a nowhere pass inside breaks play down. Pinillos shot from 40yds when we had the area loaded and had pressure on in second half. Moore cutting in and falling off balance yet still shot when he had two players aside him. Same in dying mins when a turn and shot went wide. Cavarre trying a drag back and losing possession, next phase after they scored where Mowat who being in a dodgy position needed to clear ball wide and out chipped it perfectly to their player free at the edge of the area. Davies throw outs at chest height to isolated players tight to the touch line and closed down several times. I remember thinking exactly the same first half to Notts Co. second half we started to make those simple decisions right.

 

Good observations. And I agree. Rather than saying player A is **** and player B needs dropping, something seems to have gone tactically wrong.
And the 'pressing' game seems to have disappeared altogether.
Missing Dougall tremendously.

 

All our players shoot, even when the right decision is to pass to a team mate in a better position. Thiam is probably the worst offender but they all do it It's one of the reasons our shots on goal statistics are so high. And the main reason why we're not winning games despite dominating these statistics A shot on goal from a poor position or when off balance or when a colleague is in a much better position is not a missed chance, it's a wasted opportunity to create a chance

 

Agree we never used to shoot, now it's at every opportunity got to be a happy medium

 

I thought the tactic to shoot on sight was the right tactic yesterday , it was nightmare conditions with driving rain & a greasy wet ball . When conditions are like they were , shot stopping becomes a nightmare, however , I thought their keeper did exceptionally well in the way he dealt with the strikes on goal , he managed to tip or push everything out of play & did not attempt any risky catching or parrying .

 

Yes, all those come to mind & also Jacob Brown had two over on the left in space to pass to but instead played it forward to Isgrove, who was marked. It's inevitable I guess with the young squad that we are doing this.

 

Loads of correct observations on here, yesterday was the most excited i've seen people around me get for ages, problem was its also the most frustrated ive seen for a while.
I know its easy sitting in the upper as the view is virtually 100% of the pitch and your view isn't blocked by other players but we do seem to have a head down and don't look up mentality at present. maybe the comments on experienced players is close to the mark or our players are actually panicking and feeling the pressure of being one of the favoured sides for promotion. got to say no lack of effort by majority of team yesterday and maybe Daniel has finally realised Cavare is a liability...(January loan deal required)

I always remember Bill Shanley's motto for the all dominating 70s/ 80s Liverpool side …......Keep it simple,

 

There was a spell between about 8 & 12 minutes that Moncur, McGeehan & Cavare were all running forward in good positions with options around them but all carried the ball far too long & ended up running into trouble

 

Good points.

 

We said this about Moncur. He ran towards Moore with the ball rather than a give and go, and it ended up with them being on top of each other. Moore had backed away so much he was on the sideline.

 

I think a realisation that we are a third division side emphasises why mistakes are made . We are a side made up of third tier players playing at a level which suits them , if a player begins to improve his game to a point where he cuts out basic mistakes which tend to frustrate, then he will be ready to step up to the next level, but we are what we are & either players improve with coaching and experience or they stand still & this level or below will be as far as some go. The thing is , for many seasons we have had a diet of championship football & accepting a lower level is frustrating .

 

I agree with the general point about decision making. For me, its why when we play decent we end up with around twenty odd shots but only a handful on target.

If you add in all the good positions that we get into and then slow up, take a wrong/backward turn, fail to release the easy ball or be greedy and go down a blind alley then we're wasting around 30 good situations in games when we're on top. I know I am Moncur's biggest critic but he was shockingly bad at all this yesterday, I can recall at least half a dozen times in the first half hour when he did this, let alone the fact that he was blowing out of his arse after eight, yes eight, minutes.

I've never been Isgrove's biggest fan due to the fact that he offers little or no assist or goal threat but compared to GM it was an absolute revelation to see a player with movement on our flank, able to cover the full length of the pitch and even give his full back some assistance.

 

Moncur made some great runs first half, but his use of the ball is very wasteful & he ran out of steam after 40 minutes.

Moore was frustrating at times as well today. His commitment is 100%. I really can't see too many Championship teams being that interested in him TBH though, as he is about at his level in my opinion. It would be nice to have another option up front to play with Woodrow on days like today, or just go one up with Moncur or Potts in the number 10 role.

 

Well I go to fek
These were exactly the same points I was Making in my strangers thread yesterday which you jumped on and dismissed .
Players not knowing what runs to make or pass going opposite to where player ran.
We struggled to make the rightpasses in the final third and still managed numerous attempts on goal.
Portsmouth couldnt live with us but just waited to be gifted the ball with out stray passes.
We have been the oppositions biggest threat in most games I’ve seen and should be challenging for top two places .
Sunderlland, Portsmouth ,Luton Charlton Doncaster are probably the teams likely to be there or thereabouts and we’ve easily taken the game and more to each of these teams and imo non of them have infiltrated us with superior play just capitalised on our mistakes .

 

Moncur probably typifies us at the moment .....at times mesmerising and better than his opposite player by a street mile.
Yet horribly he can't match his talent with consistency.. ..at best he is a 60 minute player.
I noticed kenny Jacket bigging him up before the match yesterday but I doubt he would be a starter for pompy .....who have 11 toilers and get results because of that.
I enjoy watching us this season but we are soooooo frustrating (like George moncur).

 

Thought Charlton and Donny were the much better teams on the day. Sunderland destroyed us for 20 minutes. We played some good football after that and that does show some character but we were 3-0 down, the game was over and Sunderland went on to score another.

 

I don’t see a bid from Pompey in January tbh maybe an ifffer to join somewhere when his contract runs down.

 

We obviously have crossed wires , you were on about players not knowing each other & playing like strangers etc , my point is that the players are third division & that is the quality of the players we have . I think the players know each other perfectly well & are not strangers on the pitch , I just think at this level we have to accept that players abilities bring about the errors what are apparent , hopefully coaching will help with these errors but ultimately it boils down to ability .

 

Sunderland went on top after defensive error that somehow rocked our defense to its core sending into panick stations but when we recovered we were by far on top and their third was whilst we were chasing the game although he took it well.
Donny played well without teeth imo yes they hit the bar but Marquis was easily dealt with and our usual two passes and gift the oppsition was a factor in their midfield dominating.